NHS blood donations in Sheffield - appointments booked up after after 'amazing' response to amber warning

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said more than 10,000 appointments to donate blood over the next few weeks had been booked nationally in the last 24 hours after an amber alert about blood stocks running low was issued.

The Blood.co.uk website used to book appointments had 100,000 people queuing at one point, with some donors waiting up to an hour to book. More than 166,000 people visited the website overall today, which was the highest number of daily visits since the pandemic began. More than 7,500 people registered as new donors yesterday too – the highest daily spike in new registrations in the last 20 years.

Where can you book to give blood in Sheffield?

NHSBT said staffing and the availability of appointments was the biggest challenge and the amber alert would remain in place for at least the next four weeks, with limited availability of appointments expected to remain commonplace for people wishing to donate. It urged people to keep checking back for appointments and to book further ahead for November and December at permanent donor centres in towns and cities which have extended hours and greater capacity. Sheffield Blood Donor Centre, in Cathedral Court on Church Street in Sheffield city centre, is open Monday to Friday and on Sundays.

O blood groups are in particular need – there are 71,000 existing O negative blood donors who are eligible to donate in the next few weeks who are urgently needed – but A type donors are also needed at the moment.

Visit blood.co.uk or use the blood app to check if there are appointments near you or that you could feasibly travel to. If you are a priority blood donor, please call direct on 0300 123 23 23 to book a donation slot.

An NHSBT spokesperson said: “This is an amazing response from the public and we have been reminded in the last 24 hours of the incredible goodwill and spirit of the public towards helping patients in times of great difficulty. While the amber alert isn’t a widespread donor appeal we want to say a huge thank you to existing donors and those who came forward in their thousands yesterday to register for the first time. We’d like to extend a special thanks to those donors who called us to express their empathy and offering to do anything they could to help.

“Staffing and appointment availability continues to be our biggest challenge and Amber alert will remain in place for at least the next four weeks, where unfortunately limited appointment availability to donate will be commonplace due to staffing levels. We know this can be frustrating for donors who want book an appointment right now to help. Please be assured that we are doing our utmost to prioritise appointments for blood types most in demand right now and in the near future, but we only have so many appointments available in the short term so it’s a fine balancing act.”

“If you are an O Neg group blood donor please call our customer contact centre to book a priority appointment – we are asking all other blood donors to help by filling the appointments available in the coming few weeks at our permanent donor centres. If you can’t make an appointment now, please come back to us in a few weeks – we need to supply hospitals with blood every day of the year.”